Tag Archives: basset

Post navigation

I got it on Saturday and just seeing it made me cry, bringing back so many memories of the basset I had loved for over ten years. Since he passed away just over a month ago I have of course been thinking of him but the random crying was down to a minimum and I was smiling more than crying. Still missing him but feeling so grateful to have had as much time with him as we did. Enjoying old photos and remembering stories of Kingsley being Kingsley. One of a kind he was.

The paw print made it all fresh again and I held it and ran my fingers over it, remembering the bossy paw that would hit my leg or arm when it was time to be fed or go for a walk. After having a bit of a cry, I put it back in it’s container, stood up and dropped it.

I saw it fall in slow motion, reaching for it as it fell. I heard myself saying “NOOOOOOOO…..” as it fell and I think I started crying before it hit the ground. Then I sat and looked at the broken memory and cried. Then I slowly opened the container and looked at the pieces and cried. I held the pieces and cried. I tried to put them back together and cried.

I put them aside for awhile because looking at them just broke my heart every time I saw them and I would start crying again. They can’t make another one, it’s a one of a kind, just like Kingsley. I found this out after a call to the vet clinic, it was worth a shot to ask. I wasn’t sure how they made them. Then I cried again. It was like losing Kingsley all over again. Dramatic yes, overly so, probably.

The next day I went and bought glue and hoped it would work. It did. It’s not perfect as you can see but the pieces are back together. I can again run my hands over it and hold it. It is now back in it’s container and in a safe place. Perhaps the cracks are more fitting for Kingsley. He was a basset from a broken home, which gave him two homes to be spoiled and loved in and my heart broke when he passed away. I miss him everyday and now looking at the broken paw print, perhaps this is how it should be.

No matter that it broke and now shows the cracks of my clumsiness. No matter that I broke a one of a kind memory of my boy. I think my boy, Kingsley, would shake his head and think…… OF COURSE she dropped it….. have you met her? If he was here he would roll his eyes (I swear he could roll his eyes) and give me that look, that look that I miss so much.

It is still just as precious to me and now I’ll forever keep it in a safe place, taking it out occasionally and running my fingers over it. A reminder of my boy and that we aren’t perfect but that there is a beauty in putting the pieces back together.

That is a picture of Kingsley enjoying his first and last ice cream cone.

He LOVED it! Oh he licked it down to nothing and crunched happily on the cone. Happy, happy basset and we were in his good books. Until we found he was lactose intolerant and the poor guy had the runs for days. We felt horrible for him and guilty because it was suppose to be a harmless treat. It was a treat all right, for us to clean up.

He wasn’t used to people food and his treats were always dog treats. The ice cream was a special treat, Jamie had grown up with a basset and every year he got a Dairy Queen ice cream. Apparently that basset had a much tougher stomach than our little boy. Our little boy still wanted ice cream but we switched him back to doggy treats only. No more people food at all for him.

I used to get him peanut butter cups made for dogs and he LOVED them, so he wasn’t deprived, also oreo cookies that were made for dogs, he would practically dance everytime he saw one. OMG, OMG A COOKIE!

Oh the look. I saw this look not only in the snow but any time Kingsley was displeased with me. He hated the snow and didn’t like the cold. Putting his booties on him and making him go out could result in him sitting with his back to me for hours.

On one particularly cold morning I went to take him out for his morning pee, I think it was minus 30, seriously cold. I opened the door for him to go out and he just looked up at me and peed where he was, just inside the door. Couldn’t blame him I didn’t want to go out either. So I cleaned up pee while he went back to bed.

He wouldn’t look at or acknowledge me when he was mad. Like the time I wouldn’t let him eat pizza off the street, I’m an evil woman. I never realized how much food people throw away until I had a basset. He would come back from the walk mad and then fall asleep (with his back to me) then wake up and suddenly remember “OMG THERE’S PIZZA ON THE STREET”, then he would get up and go to the door, demanding to go out again. Once out he didn’t have to pee, no! He was heading straight for the pizza.

Oh I will miss the basset nap. After a long walk Kingsley loved to cozy in for a nap and even though he was a little heavy, I loved him sleeping on me. This is an old picture he’s probably around a year old.

I will miss the basset breath in my face and him pushing himself around trying to get comfy. Will miss him giving me the evil basset eye if I had to get up before he was ready. He would grunt at me like a grumpy old man and then cozy back in by himself.

Kingsley passed away this weekend. This is my favourite picture of him.

I am heartbroken and will miss him so much. It was sudden, it seemed sudden. He hadn’t been well and early Saturday he was taken up to the Vet Hospital to find out what was wrong. He had stopped eating and my dog ALWAYS ate. It was late in the afternoon after blood work, x-rays and an ultrasound that we got the terrible news. He had cancer, a large tumour in his stomach. There was nothing they could do.

So this week I’ll be sharing my favourite pictures of Kingsley, remembering him fondly and missing him terribly.

That’s my boy, Kingsley, he’s not well at the moment. I’m missing him terribly.

I got a call yesterday that Kingsley wasn’t well and had to go to the vet today. This is the hardest part of sharing a dog, when he’s not well and I’m not there. I’d like to be there to assess his condition, give him cuddles and just take care of him.

I know he’s in good hands but the waiting to hear how the vet appointment went seemed to take forever. As it turns out he’s got a bad sprain, that’s why he wasn’t acting like his usual self, why he was limping, not sleeping and even his breathing was off. He now has medication, is back home and is cozied in on the couch sleeping and drooling.

Wish I was there but the next weekend I have him he’ll be getting lots of love and attention. I think a marathon basset nap will be in order.

This is the first time I’ve seen Kingsley in three weeks. After the trip to Iceland I had to wait another week for my weekend to see the dog. I share him, my ex and I have a custody agreement about the dog. The arrangement has worked out really well for six years.

When Kingsley arrived he was aloof and stand-offish, I started to wonder if he had heard about the dog I met in Iceland. The CUTEST, SWEETEST little Icelandic sheepdog. So my boy was giving me the cold shoulder.

Then we talked about it and I assured him that he was still my number one, I think he was listening.

I gave him a chew stick, his favourite. He got distracted trying to hide it and forgot about being mad at me.

He tried out several hiding places.

By the end of the night everything was back to normal.

I think he was excited to see me again…… Basset excitement is the best, very subtle but the best.